Parking at Craigavon Hospital discussed

DUP MLA Carla Lockhart and Councillor Margaret Tinsley have met with the Trust officials to discuss parking arrangements at Craigavon Area Hospital.

The meeting came after approaches by patients and relatives, local residents and local businesses concerning the lack of parking and the all day parking that goes on.

Over the past number of months the Trust have made great strides with the provision of many free spaces however there is still an issue with people attending the hospital parking outside houses and businesses locally and blocking access.

Speaking after the meeting Carla Lockhart said: “We had a very constructive meeting with the Trust officials and I thank them for meeting with us. I welcome the 200 additional spaces that have been created over the past couple of years. However everyone accepts the ongoing difficulties on the site with an increasing demand and an increase in services on the hospital site. I believe our ongoing dialogue with the Trust will result in better signage and further free spaces.”

Councillor Tinsley said: “I welcome the positive meeting with the Trust to resolve some constituents issues. We are fortunate to have a world class health facility in Craigavon and we want to ensure those that use it and residents alike can do so without inconvenience.”

A Southern Trust spokesperson said: “There are currently just over 2,000 car parking places on the Craigavon Area Hospital site. An extra 210 new car parking places have been added recently and we have identified 85 additional car parking spaces required for our very busiest times (subject to funding).”

They added: “Car parking on this very busy hospital site continues to be a challenge but we have introduced a number of measures to improve parking and ease congestion. These include:

New parking enforcement arrangements to deter people from inappropriately parking in disabled spaces and keeping the blue light route clear at Craigavon Area Hospital; Creation of dedicated Staff car parking located away from hospital visitor car parks; Traffic calming measures including pedestrian crossings and signage.

“Improvements in car parking signage and communications to the public in relation to car park locations around the site are currently being worked through.

“We would encourage anybody with a car parking concern/complaint to contact our complaints department by telephoning 028 3861 4150 or by emailing: complaints@southerntrust.hscni.net.”